The Church of Divine Guidance (CDG) Sunday morning adult bible study group is in a study on faith. These posts are my notes for each session. Please study with us. You can participate by asking your questions or making comments in the comments below. We welcome your thoughts
Before we get started today I want to read something the I read this week about faith. It's taken from a devotional on the Christian Quotes website.
6 Key Truths About Faith
Faith requires you to look with God’s eyes
God knows everything. His ways are not our ways. Unfortunately, human beings tend to be very, very limited and quite shallow with what we see. But real faith requires you to look at your situation through God’s eyes, and that is reflected in his promises.
Human limitations don’t limit God
It’s very important when trying to understand faith that it can be easy to get caught up in our limitations and to define what’s possible based on human definitions. The great news is that none of that matters much to God because there is no limit to him. He is completely powerful and limitless.
God looks past conventional wisdom
In human reality, there are actually several layers to reality. There is the empirical reality — what you can see, touch, smell, feel, and hear — and then there’s human reality. In short, we tend to agree that certain things are real not so much that we can perceive them but because they are agreed upon realities. A lot of science is like this. A lot of the law is like this. God looks past conventional wisdom. God often exceeds or overrides conventional wisdom regarding what’s possible.
It’s very important when trying to understand faith that it can be easy to get caught up in our limitations and to define what’s possible based on human definitions. The great news is that none of that matters much to God because there is no limit to him. He is completely powerful and limitless.
God looks past conventional wisdom
In human reality, there are actually several layers to reality. There is the empirical reality — what you can see, touch, smell, feel, and hear — and then there’s human reality. In short, we tend to agree that certain things are real not so much that we can perceive them but because they are agreed upon realities. A lot of science is like this. A lot of the law is like this. God looks past conventional wisdom. God often exceeds or overrides conventional wisdom regarding what’s possible.
God’s vision reveals God’s glory
God has a vision for you. You have a destiny in God’s eyes. And this vision is tied closely with God’s common vision for his children, which is salvation. Salvation reveals God’s glory and it reveals his infinite love for all of us.
God has a vision for you. You have a destiny in God’s eyes. And this vision is tied closely with God’s common vision for his children, which is salvation. Salvation reveals God’s glory and it reveals his infinite love for all of us.
Seeing with eyes of faith means seeing God’s strength
When you choose to see your situation with eyes of faith, you choose to tap into God’s strength. You gain that sense of possibility that enables you to transcend whatever is limiting you.
When you choose to see your situation with eyes of faith, you choose to tap into God’s strength. You gain that sense of possibility that enables you to transcend whatever is limiting you.
Faith and trust go hand in hand
It’s impossible to have faith without trust. It’s impossible to trust without faith. They go hand in hand. They are different from each other, but they are closely interwoven.
You can only unlock faith if you choose to trust, and faith continues to unfold because you continue to trust.
Foundation Scripture
Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. –
What two things does faith enable us to do?
Why is faith and essential part of our relationship with God?
Because without it we can’t please God
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
What is the evidence that our faith is not irrational or blind faith?
Creation and the Word of God.
How do we grow in faith?
The Word of God
Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Last week we finished the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. We ended by with the people that were not named. Women received their dead raised to life again; and we talked about some women that fit that description who the writer of Hebrews may have been thinking about. We talked about men the who had been tortured but maintained their faith.
What did we say was the difference between those who were unnamed and those whose names were mentioned in the chapter?
The named heroes all died but the bible doesn't indicate, other than Samson, that they died violently. Those whose names were mentioned were leaders and held positions of importance. Those unnamed don’t appear to have been leaders yet they are still portrayed as heroes and heroines of faith. Today we say that survivors are heroes and less often that those who perish are heroes unless they perform what we call heroic acts. Hebrews makes clear that those who perished were also heroes and heroines of faith.
And the lesson for us?
The real hope of our faith in God is to obtain eternal life and resurrection of the body. Other blessings are wonderful and God promises an abundant life through Jesus. Faith in God doesn't always lead to material and physical blessing. We still live in a fallen world that is out of the perfect order that God intended when He created it and man. The example here with the unnamed people is that they all had faith but they died tragic deaths so today when a believer is going through difficult times either materially or physical it is not necessarily because of a lack of faith.
It’s impossible to have faith without trust. It’s impossible to trust without faith. They go hand in hand. They are different from each other, but they are closely interwoven.
You can only unlock faith if you choose to trust, and faith continues to unfold because you continue to trust.
Foundation Scripture
Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. –
What two things does faith enable us to do?
- Enables us to realize that God does exist because we see His creation and realize that things that we see were created by Him who we can’t see but know that He exist.
- Faith enables us to please God.
Why is faith and essential part of our relationship with God?
Because without it we can’t please God
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
What is the evidence that our faith is not irrational or blind faith?
Creation and the Word of God.
How do we grow in faith?
The Word of God
Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Introduction
Last week we finished the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. We ended by with the people that were not named. Women received their dead raised to life again; and we talked about some women that fit that description who the writer of Hebrews may have been thinking about. We talked about men the who had been tortured but maintained their faith.
What did we say was the difference between those who were unnamed and those whose names were mentioned in the chapter?
The named heroes all died but the bible doesn't indicate, other than Samson, that they died violently. Those whose names were mentioned were leaders and held positions of importance. Those unnamed don’t appear to have been leaders yet they are still portrayed as heroes and heroines of faith. Today we say that survivors are heroes and less often that those who perish are heroes unless they perform what we call heroic acts. Hebrews makes clear that those who perished were also heroes and heroines of faith.
And the lesson for us?
The real hope of our faith in God is to obtain eternal life and resurrection of the body. Other blessings are wonderful and God promises an abundant life through Jesus. Faith in God doesn't always lead to material and physical blessing. We still live in a fallen world that is out of the perfect order that God intended when He created it and man. The example here with the unnamed people is that they all had faith but they died tragic deaths so today when a believer is going through difficult times either materially or physical it is not necessarily because of a lack of faith.
What the believer looks forward to in faith is what the writer of Hebrews says that these heroes looked for;
Hebrews 11:13-16, 35, 39-12:2 (HCSB)13 These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return.16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 35 Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, (Emphasis mine)
Some of my biblical heroes of faith
All of these people acted in faith. I want us to talk about these people because their faith caused them to act in the face of difficult situations. They didn't just believe but they believed and acted. They and all the people we talked about from Hebrews 11 are examples for us when we face difficulties and don't know which was is up. Some of these people are just ordinary folk like us who because of their faith they are mentioned in the Bible as examples for us.
We'll talk a little bit about them and what the did in faith and then the results of those actions.
When the Nation of Israel was near the border of the Promised Land Moses sent twelve men into Cannon as spies to check it out and report back to him. When they returned ten of the spies gave a bad report. However two of the spies gave a different report even though they saw the same things. Joshua was one of them and Caleb the other.
Numbers 13:30 (HCSB) Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
They both trusted God and because of their faith in Him being able to do what He said he would do. They were the only two people, who were adults at that time, to enter the Promised Land. Read the entire account in Numbers 13.
The result of Caleb’s faith
When the people entered the Promised Land and had won many battles and routed the people of the land; Over 40 years after Caleb said we must go up and take the land, because of His faith in God, he received his reward.
Joshua 14:7-9, 13 (HCSB)7 I was 40 years old when Moses the LORD’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report. 8 My brothers who went with me caused the people’s hearts to melt with fear, but I remained loyal to the LORD my God. 9 On that day Moses promised me: ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have remained loyal to the LORD my God.’ 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance.
Most of us know the story of Esther, the young Hebrew woman who kept the knowledge of her heritage from King Ahasuerus, the king of the Medes This was during the exile of the Hebrews in
Babylon.
When she learned of the plot to annihilate, through genocide, all of the Jews in the kingdom she stepped out in faith and went to the king without being summoned, could have resulted in her death.
Esther 4:11, 16 (HCSB)11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—⌊the⌋ death ⌊penalty⌋. Only if the king extends the gold scepter will that person live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last 30 days.” 16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, day or night. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”
The result of Esther’s faith
Esther 8:8, 11 (HCSB) 8 You may write in the king’s name whatever pleases you concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. A document written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.” ; 11 The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war
You remember their story. They were taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar and ended up being advisers to the king. They later fell into disfavor because they disobeyed a direct order to bow down to a statue of the king. Disobedience meant being thrown into a furnace. When questioned by the king they responded;
Daniel 3:16-17 (HCSB)16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
The results of their faith
Daniel 3:26-30 (HCSB) 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel and rescued His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Caleb
When the Nation of Israel was near the border of the Promised Land Moses sent twelve men into Cannon as spies to check it out and report back to him. When they returned ten of the spies gave a bad report. However two of the spies gave a different report even though they saw the same things. Joshua was one of them and Caleb the other.
Numbers 13:30 (HCSB) Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
They both trusted God and because of their faith in Him being able to do what He said he would do. They were the only two people, who were adults at that time, to enter the Promised Land. Read the entire account in Numbers 13.
The result of Caleb’s faith
When the people entered the Promised Land and had won many battles and routed the people of the land; Over 40 years after Caleb said we must go up and take the land, because of His faith in God, he received his reward.
Joshua 14:7-9, 13 (HCSB)7 I was 40 years old when Moses the LORD’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report. 8 My brothers who went with me caused the people’s hearts to melt with fear, but I remained loyal to the LORD my God. 9 On that day Moses promised me: ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have remained loyal to the LORD my God.’ 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance.
Esther
Most of us know the story of Esther, the young Hebrew woman who kept the knowledge of her heritage from King Ahasuerus, the king of the Medes This was during the exile of the Hebrews in
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| Esther and Mordecai writing the first letter of Purim by Arent de Gelder |
When she learned of the plot to annihilate, through genocide, all of the Jews in the kingdom she stepped out in faith and went to the king without being summoned, could have resulted in her death.
Esther 4:11, 16 (HCSB)11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—⌊the⌋ death ⌊penalty⌋. Only if the king extends the gold scepter will that person live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last 30 days.” 16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, day or night. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”
The result of Esther’s faith
Esther 8:8, 11 (HCSB) 8 You may write in the king’s name whatever pleases you concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. A document written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.” ; 11 The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego
You remember their story. They were taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar and ended up being advisers to the king. They later fell into disfavor because they disobeyed a direct order to bow down to a statue of the king. Disobedience meant being thrown into a furnace. When questioned by the king they responded;
Daniel 3:16-17 (HCSB)16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
The results of their faith
Daniel 3:26-30 (HCSB) 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel and rescued His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Daniel
The Bible records many instances of Daniel’s faith. I encourage you to read the first 6 chapters of Daniel. But there is the one that everybody knows
It was when he refused to obey the king’s law that everybody had to pray only to him. Daniel got caught praying to Jehovah and the penalty was to be thrown into a den of lions.
Here’s what happened as a result of Daniel’s faith
Daniel 6:19-23 (HCSB)19 At the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den.20 When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. “Daniel, servant of the living God,” the king said, “has your God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions?”21 Then Daniel spoke with the king: “May the king live forever.22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths. They haven’t hurt me, for I was found innocent before Him. Also, I have not committed a crime against you my king.”23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was taken out of the den, uninjured, for he trusted in his God.
Nehemiah
Upon learning of the difficulties and opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem Nehemiah was heart broken. When given the opportunity he asked King Artaxerxes leader of the Persian Empire to allow him to go the Jerusalem and lead it’s rebuilding efforts.
Nehemiah 2:1-6 (HCSB)1 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.” I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I may rebuild it.”6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.
While that was a big act of faith that’s not all. When he got to Jerusalem he was confronted by opponents.
Nehemiah 2:19-20 (HCSB)19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard ⌊about this⌋, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
Results from Nehemiah’s faith ?
Jerusalem was rebuilt and there was a revial in Judah.
We all know what Job went through and though he wavered he never lost his integrity and his faith in God. Job based his hope on the truth that God is God and that He is good.
Job 19:25-27 (HCSB)25 But I know my living Redeemer, and He will stand on the dust at last. 26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. 27 I will see Him myself; my eyes will look at ⌊Him⌋, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
Results of Job’s faith
He received back double what was taken from him by Satan.
Job 42:12-13 (NKJV)12 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.
His name means “ The Lord is God” . He was a man who God used mightily because of his faith. Elijah’s acts of faith are legendary. Almost too much for us to talk about today, It would take several sessions.
There was the time that he told King Ahab there would be no rain until he said so.
1 Kings 17:1 (HCSB) Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
There was the showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. The entire encounter starts at verse 20 of chapter 18 and continues until the end of the chapter but we are just going to consider two verses.
1 Kings 18:36-38 (HCSB)36 At the time for offering the ⌊evening⌋ sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached ⌊the altar⌋ and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things.37 Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.”38 Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
Then the rain that Elijah said wouldn't come until he announced it.
1 Kings 18:41-45 (HCSB)41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees.43 Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” So he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”44 On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get ⌊your chariot⌋ ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’”45 In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in ⌊his chariot⌋ and went to Jezreel.
Then the time that he obeyed God’s command to go to a brook and live on water from the brook and
food brought to him by birds.
1 Kings 17:5-7 (HCSB)5 So he did what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived by the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
When the brook dried up he again obeyed God when He told him to go to a village where he would be able to live even though there was a severe famine in the land. We talked about that when we talked about the widow of Zarephath last week.
We talked about him in one of our studies when we were tracing the earthly ancestry of Jesus. Hezekiah was one of Judah’s best kings. During his reign there was a great reformation. One of the first things that he did was to destroy the pagan altars and places of worship throughout Judah
2 Kings 18:3-6 (HCSB)3 He did what was right in the LORD’s sight just as his ancestor David had done. 4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah ⌊poles⌋. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.6 He remained faithful to Yahweh and did not turn from following Him but kept the commands the LORD had commanded Moses.
When Jerusalem was threatened Hezekiah turned to God in faith
2 Kings 19:1, 14 (HCSB)1 When King Hezekiah heard ⌊their report⌋, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the LORD’s temple. 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple, and spread it out before the LORD.
The result
2 Kings 19:35-36 (HCSB)35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the ⌊next⌋ morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned ⌊home⌋ and lived in Nineveh.
When he became seriously ill
2 Kings 20:1-3 (HCSB)1 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 “Please LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
The result God answered his prayer and extended his life.
2 Kings 20:5-6 (HCSB) 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, ‘This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day ⌊from now⌋ you will go up to the LORD’s temple. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
Ruth left everything she had for something far more greater than anything she’d ever imagined.
Ruth 1:16 (HCSB)16 But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
What happened as a result of Ruth’s faith
She was an earthly ancestor of Jesus.
Ruth 4:13, 17 (HCSB)13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The 300 Who Fought With Gideon
We have talked about Gideon, a couple of weeks ago, and how he is a hero of faith but what about the 300 men who fought with him. Don’t you think they needed faith to follow Gideon with this small force against a much the larger and more powerful Midianite army?
We can point to Jesus, Hid apostles, John the Baptist, Stephen (martyr for Christianity) and Paul and Silas, Timothy, but I don’t want to highlight them we know a lot about them and their faith. I want to talk about some others that we don’t usually think about as heroes.
God chose Mary as the vessel that would deliver Jesus the Christ and he even chose Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly father. He gave the news to Joseph by a messenger.
Matthew 1:25-25 (HCSB) 24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.
Joseph took on a huge responsibility; he agreed with God and became Jesus’ earthly father.
Luke 2:21-24, 36-38 (HCSB)21 When the eight days were completed for His circumcision, He was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before He was conceived.22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord)24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons). 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,37 and was a widow for 84 years. She did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Now we don’t know, it’s not recorded about the 60 or so years of devotion and of seeking of her God that this woman Anna had devoted except that she lived in the temple day by day and she lived as a widow for about 60 years as well.
It’s not recorded what she did, or where she came from or how she came to be in this favored position but as she steps onto the stage of life for just a short moment God the creator of the Heavens and the earth shows her his son. Anna was a witness and a testimony to the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.
There is a woman who is mentioned in the narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion, Salome who you never hear about.
Mark 15:40-41, 16:1 (HCSB)40 There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.41 When He was in Galilee, they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem. 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so they could go and anoint Him.
During Jesus ministry and time upon the earth this woman and others ministered to Jesus and the disciples. She was there at Jesus' death and according to Mark with the two Marys when they went to the tomb and found it empty.
There are many other heroes both named and unnamed.
We can be inspired by these and other unsung heroes of the Bible. Many of them like us just ordinary people who because of their faith made important contributions to the plan of God and so can we. All it takes is a willingness to do what God direct us to do. If we want to know what those things are they are in his Word.
In the past several weeks we have talked about people who had victories because of obedience and others whose lives of faith led to suffering, torture and death.
Taking the path of faith and committing ourselves to obey God no matter what, in no way means that the circumstances of our lives will all peaches and cream. Faith doesn't guarantee good times. Faith guarantees our realization of the hope we have for transformation within. Through faith, we are enabled to catch from day to day a growing hint of what we will be at Jesus' return, when we will be just like Him.
While that was a big act of faith that’s not all. When he got to Jerusalem he was confronted by opponents.
Nehemiah 2:19-20 (HCSB)19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard ⌊about this⌋, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”
Results from Nehemiah’s faith ?
Jerusalem was rebuilt and there was a revial in Judah.
Job
We all know what Job went through and though he wavered he never lost his integrity and his faith in God. Job based his hope on the truth that God is God and that He is good.
Job 19:25-27 (HCSB)25 But I know my living Redeemer, and He will stand on the dust at last. 26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. 27 I will see Him myself; my eyes will look at ⌊Him⌋, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
Results of Job’s faith
He received back double what was taken from him by Satan.
Job 42:12-13 (NKJV)12 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.13 He also had seven sons and three daughters.
Elijah
His name means “ The Lord is God” . He was a man who God used mightily because of his faith. Elijah’s acts of faith are legendary. Almost too much for us to talk about today, It would take several sessions.
There was the time that he told King Ahab there would be no rain until he said so.
1 Kings 17:1 (HCSB) Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, I stand before Him, and there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
There was the showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. The entire encounter starts at verse 20 of chapter 18 and continues until the end of the chapter but we are just going to consider two verses.
1 Kings 18:36-38 (HCSB)36 At the time for offering the ⌊evening⌋ sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached ⌊the altar⌋ and said, “Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things.37 Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people will know that You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.”38 Then Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
Then the rain that Elijah said wouldn't come until he announced it.
1 Kings 18:41-45 (HCSB)41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees.43 Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.” So he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.” Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”44 On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming from the sea.” Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get ⌊your chariot⌋ ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’”45 In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in ⌊his chariot⌋ and went to Jezreel.
Then the time that he obeyed God’s command to go to a brook and live on water from the brook and
 |
| Elijah and the poor widow |
1 Kings 17:5-7 (HCSB)5 So he did what the LORD commanded. Elijah left and lived by the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
When the brook dried up he again obeyed God when He told him to go to a village where he would be able to live even though there was a severe famine in the land. We talked about that when we talked about the widow of Zarephath last week.
Hezekiah
We talked about him in one of our studies when we were tracing the earthly ancestry of Jesus. Hezekiah was one of Judah’s best kings. During his reign there was a great reformation. One of the first things that he did was to destroy the pagan altars and places of worship throughout Judah
2 Kings 18:3-6 (HCSB)3 He did what was right in the LORD’s sight just as his ancestor David had done. 4 He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah ⌊poles⌋. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. He called it Nehushtan. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.6 He remained faithful to Yahweh and did not turn from following Him but kept the commands the LORD had commanded Moses.
When Jerusalem was threatened Hezekiah turned to God in faith
2 Kings 19:1, 14 (HCSB)1 When King Hezekiah heard ⌊their report⌋, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the LORD’s temple. 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple, and spread it out before the LORD.
The result
2 Kings 19:35-36 (HCSB)35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the ⌊next⌋ morning—there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned ⌊home⌋ and lived in Nineveh.
When he became seriously ill
2 Kings 20:1-3 (HCSB)1 In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 “Please LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
The result God answered his prayer and extended his life.
2 Kings 20:5-6 (HCSB) 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of My people, ‘This is what the LORD God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day ⌊from now⌋ you will go up to the LORD’s temple. 6 I will add 15 years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
Ruth
Ruth left everything she had for something far more greater than anything she’d ever imagined.
Ruth 1:16 (HCSB)16 But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
What happened as a result of Ruth’s faith
She was an earthly ancestor of Jesus.
Ruth 4:13, 17 (HCSB)13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
The 300 Who Fought With Gideon
We have talked about Gideon, a couple of weeks ago, and how he is a hero of faith but what about the 300 men who fought with him. Don’t you think they needed faith to follow Gideon with this small force against a much the larger and more powerful Midianite army?
Gideon's Army
Judges 7:7-8, 16-23 (HCSB)7 The LORD said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home.”8 So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents but kept the 300, who took the people’s provisions and their trumpets.
16 Then he divided the 300 men into three companies and gave each of the men a trumpet in one hand and an empty pitcher with a torch inside it ⌊in the other⌋.17 “Watch me,” he said, “and do the same. When I come to the outpost of the camp, do as I do.18 When I and everyone with me blow our trumpets, you are also to blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then you will say, ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon!’”19 Gideon and the 100 men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.20 The three companies blew their trumpets and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets in their right hands, and shouted, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!”21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire ⌊Midianite⌋ army fled, and cried out as they ran.22 When Gideon’s men blew their 300 trumpets, the LORD set the swords of each man in the army against each other. They fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.23 Then the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
Not only were they just 300 in number up against an enemy who were as grasshoppers for magnitude they were also given strange weapons to fight with. Trumpets, pitchers and lamps. Now they definitely had faith.
Now what about some heroes of faith in the New Testament?
We can point to Jesus, Hid apostles, John the Baptist, Stephen (martyr for Christianity) and Paul and Silas, Timothy, but I don’t want to highlight them we know a lot about them and their faith. I want to talk about some others that we don’t usually think about as heroes.
Joseph of Nazareth
God chose Mary as the vessel that would deliver Jesus the Christ and he even chose Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly father. He gave the news to Joseph by a messenger.
Matthew 1:25-25 (HCSB) 24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.
Joseph took on a huge responsibility; he agreed with God and became Jesus’ earthly father.
Anna
Luke 2:21-24, 36-38 (HCSB)21 When the eight days were completed for His circumcision, He was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before He was conceived.22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord)24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons). 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,37 and was a widow for 84 years. She did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Now we don’t know, it’s not recorded about the 60 or so years of devotion and of seeking of her God that this woman Anna had devoted except that she lived in the temple day by day and she lived as a widow for about 60 years as well.
It’s not recorded what she did, or where she came from or how she came to be in this favored position but as she steps onto the stage of life for just a short moment God the creator of the Heavens and the earth shows her his son. Anna was a witness and a testimony to the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth.
Salome
There is a woman who is mentioned in the narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion, Salome who you never hear about.
Mark 15:40-41, 16:1 (HCSB)40 There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.41 When He was in Galilee, they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem. 1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so they could go and anoint Him.
During Jesus ministry and time upon the earth this woman and others ministered to Jesus and the disciples. She was there at Jesus' death and according to Mark with the two Marys when they went to the tomb and found it empty.
There are many other heroes both named and unnamed.
We can be inspired by these and other unsung heroes of the Bible. Many of them like us just ordinary people who because of their faith made important contributions to the plan of God and so can we. All it takes is a willingness to do what God direct us to do. If we want to know what those things are they are in his Word.
In the past several weeks we have talked about people who had victories because of obedience and others whose lives of faith led to suffering, torture and death.
Taking the path of faith and committing ourselves to obey God no matter what, in no way means that the circumstances of our lives will all peaches and cream. Faith doesn't guarantee good times. Faith guarantees our realization of the hope we have for transformation within. Through faith, we are enabled to catch from day to day a growing hint of what we will be at Jesus' return, when we will be just like Him.
1 John 3:2-3 (HCSB) 2 Dear
friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been
revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see
Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has
this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
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